Red : What comes after ?
by Hikari-J
Summary: After becoming the youngest league's champion in recorded history, Red fled from his "duties" as a Champion to make Mt.Silver his new home...Why did he do it ? Was it an innocent training trip or something that ran deeper ? Watch as we discover the true reasons of Red's exile. Darker themes.


**Disclaimer : Pokémon belongs to Game Freaks and Nintendo; I'm only borrowing this universe.**

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Night fell upon the highest point in the... Johto region ? Then again experts from both Kanto and Johto had been arguing for years over whether the peak called was situated in the Johto or the Kanto region, because of the sheer economic benefits that were at stake.

That region was filled with ores, and natural resources unexploited for years that were only awaiting someone to pick them up : Gold, Silver, Crystal but also Ruby and Sapphire filled the underground and the mountain. The water was also rumoured to have strange and spectacular healing capabilities.

This brought the first problem that men encountered when trying to make their this valuable land... The perfect condition, unpolluted condition of this place made it so it was a perfect inhabitat for many species of Pokémon who had been given time to grow, along quality food and water. More so than anywhere in the world.

'Try to rob a Tyranitar nest; I dare you.» _He_ thought

And it was not even as if Tyranitars were the most threatening Pokémon inhabiting this place. Which was saying a lot considering the sheer power and menacing appearance of the Tyrant Pokémon... No, the place was frequently visited by the kind of Pokémon who were actively avoiding human contact at all cost.

Yes, _those_ Pokémon.

It was a shockingly common occurence to have the occasional Moltres, enjoying the almost heat of the underground of the mountain's many caves or the 'deity' Articuno who by his very nature loved the peak of that mountain... Also whenever there was a thunderstorm which involved many bolts of lightning falling on the top of what was almost a natural lightning rod you could be sure to see a Zapdos flying. The legendary beasts of Johto could be seen running if you had keen eyes too, for the untrained glance of a _civilian_ they were nothing more than blurs.

Then again, he supposed that he was not untrained anymore, much less a civilian. He almost let out a laugh at the idea that his eyes could be unfamiliar with blinding speed too... He had spent too much time following Pokémon battles, high level ones to be blinded by such.

He was still walking.

The peace was soon disturbed too, it happened once a year. The Tyranitars were already roaring in a show of power which could be heard all the way to Viridian City and Newbark Town; they were that powerful. But even so they were careful of exerting just the necessary power in theirs fight, they would want to damage their nest... They were actually fighting yes, fighting for the right of being the «boss» the one who would command the other Tyranitars, Mismagius and Misdreavus but also the Pupitar and Larvitar, the Onix, the Rapidash and the Ursaring... Why ? For one purpose actually : Chasing any human who would dare seek harm to their nest, they had actually seen and heard about what humans had done to their inhabitat everywhere else in the world bare Mount Coronet in Sinnoh.

That mountain did not need protection... Sinnoh had classified it as a Historical Site where Arceus was depicted to reside in theirs beliefs. The poor idiots had no idea how _right_ they were... Then again even if they dared set foot in this most sacred of place they would be walking in a Dragonite's den.

There were astoundingly powerful Dragonite in Mount Silver too, not nearly as much as in Mount Coronet but still ! Fortunately they were a peaceful species if not disturbed which did not seek conflict actively... They were content by obeying the orders of the Head protector of the mountain as long as it made sense. Fortunately so, a conflict between the Dragonites and the Tyranitars ?.

He shuddered even to think about it.

Whoever overpayed scientist who said that Pokémon were not capable of foreplanning, foresight or whatever... That they were beasts without any kind of advanced intelligence, less than human who were «Superior» not that they would say it out loud, they would only imply it was the biggest idiot since the guy who tried made the Legendary Pokémon power his not lot ago.

Because that «festival» amongst Pokémon showed that they had custom, they could understand each other and capable of functioning in society... A festival that served another purpose entirely too, because unlike others Pokémon who seldom trained themselves and sought out fights on their own (those were usually the ones who would fight a trainer on their own to judge their worth to them, ended up accompanying them to seek out more challenging battles, they knew about our _leagues ; _if they knew what they were getting themselves into...) they were forced to train themselves looking for the honour of being the chief, but not only that, looking to become strong enough to make a difference against any threat.

This was why essentially any of the Pokemon in this cave could for the weakest ones baring the larvitars challenge a Gym Leader's Pokemon and be victorious, why the middle leveled ones would pose a challenge to the very Elite Four, and why the strongest Pokemon residing there could take on what were essentially God for most Pokémon.

The strongest Pokémon in this place could go against a fucking Moltres, or a Zapdos and _win_ and as if this was not enough, they could fight to a Standstill the most powerful Pokemon, stuff of legend... He saw a Tyranitar sparring with Rayquaza once, the Sky Guardian liked that peak, even if it was not as high as the Sky Pillar which he favored to rest. The Tyranitar almost _won_ even if he supposed that Rayquaza was not going all out, it would have destroyed Mount Silver. He had the type advantage too. And it was Hailing.

It had impressed him more than any league battle he ever took part in.

Even to this day, he was surprised that the Pokémon in this place never sought to attack him... That they accepted him. It was acceptance not anything else that allowed him to reside there, because if he had not been accepted, even at his level alone with his Pokémon he would have been destroyed going against those Tyranitars. Even if he had won that's when the Dragonites would have jumped him and surprised him in an even worse stat that he had been when Green had attacked him in almost the same fashion aboard the SS. Anne

Not that Green could frighten him nearly as much as the thought of a Wild dragonite defending his home and children could frighten him. Lance's rumored «Strongest Dragonites in the World» had _nothing_ on them. Nothing. Period.

There he stood, barely bothered by the rain, and the hail which meant that the Abomasnow and the Politoed were at it again... Each liked different weather and theirs power naturally clashed. He wore a League sanctioned hat and the only reason he was still wearing that thing was because it was his mother last parting gift... The woman was strong, really strong he thought fondly and you could see the warmth in his Red eyes at that thought. He had been born with those eyes in a backwater part of Kanto where some people still thought that having Red eyes was the sign of being affiliated with «Darkness» and being a bad sign.

Kanto's people were really superstitious and fans of occult and other esoteric things... That was why for the longest time Dark type pokemon were hunted across the region and why theirs trainers were banned from the Kanto league. This ban turned the Kanto league into a Joke in Unova and Johto. Did you ever experience a «Mind Sweep» ? That was the name given to being swept by a Psychic Pokémon unchecked, without any counters at your disposal. Strangely enough the only Ghost Pokémon allowed in the League at the time were Ghastly and his evolutions who were part Poison.

What a Joke.

Back to his looks, he wore a simple shirt with a Red vest striped with white at the edges and what used to be blue jeans.

Bare his hat and jacket all of his others articles of clothing were tattered, what with living in that kind of place for close to three years... although even if his looks would have made him look like he was some kind of hobo with a weird fashion sense to anyone the way he stood and his eyes would have made anybody think twice before mocking him.

The fact that he was a Pokémon Trainer who had been named after his eye color as a defiance of his mother towards her hometown would have made any thugs or upstart run away crying.

He had been named _Red_.

An uncommon name ? Yes. A dreaded and almost worshipped name in Kanto ? Very much. It was the name of a thirteen years old trainer at the time, and a sixteen years old, almost seventeen now.

It was the name of the trainer who as a Thirteen years old became the Champion of the Kanto league. And technically the Johto league, he had after all beaten Lance in an official match, not that Johto would ever admit it... Too much political garbage at stake there.

_**(Red Pov)**_

'Admitting it would have been... Political suicide in Green's words at the time. I never realized how much more educated he was than me in those matters not that I would ever admit it out loud' I thought and I was sure that that contagious smirk of his had found his way upon my face; At first i had been shy but at his contact I learned that showing assurance even when pushed arround would make anyone start to doubt himself.

Not that Green ever had to learn it, it was natural for the bastard.

'I'm sure than when he was just born he already had that damn smirk on his face which basically told the nurses «I know much more than you because I'm awesome»' I thought sarcastically.

_«If he had heard that, he would have taunted you about how you must have a crush on him, like everyone else in his words to speak about him like that» _That voice.

It was my Espeon voice, he had only been an Eevee when we fled to three years ago... I will never forget how he evolved.

**Flashback - Three years ago**

_I had no time to lose, I had no time to say goodbye to my mother, to hit Green square in the face to relieve myself of all of this bullshit that happened to me in the last five hours_

_How could it all go that wrong right after achieving my wildest dreams and becoming the Champion ? At the time I was fully ready to resume my travel and defy the others Regional Champions if only for the thrill of the Challenge._

_But now I had to flee and time was of the essence, I now knew the ugly truth behind the status of a Champion and I wanted no part of it._

_My heart could tell as long as it wished that I had to end it, just like I ended team rocket I knew that at my level I was in over my head, I would be crushed, my pokemon would die or be taken into custody and I WOULD die. Or worse be imprisoned._

_That thought was the one that brought the tears, I had never cried since I was last bullied when I was seven. As a trainer I prided myself in not being a lazy-ass like so many who traveled by car, or flew on theirs Pokemon back instead of walking, of training your Pokemon and your body at the same time; I loved the freedom of it, I wanted freedom; I craved it, freedom from Pallet Town and it's idiots, Freedom from seeing the same landscape everyday when I woke up..._

_The feeling of travelling arround, seeing new pokemon and catching them was too precious, I would die before letting it being taken away._

_I could stay and give up on my beliefs, and after terminating Team Rocket I would never have imagined that the League was just as bad; but I would never had done that. I could have fought but it would be the whole world against me and I was nowhere nearly as ready to do that IF I ever did._

_So I shamefully ran away, I healed my Pokemon, evaded the reporters, and I took them all._

_In my journey I had only caught or obtained Seven Pokémon. Seven. whereas most trainers caught pokemon to let them stay in the Box like we called it; I only caught pokemon who strongly made me want to take them to the top or that I had no choice but taking._

_I always had Pikachu with me; He was my starter, My best friend; My brother even and I would not have gone anywhere without him. And he would not have let me go anywhere without him anyway. He would have shocked me to death. I loved that mouse._

_Then came Charizard, I got him as a Charmander who had been mistreated in Cerulean City. The trainer had run away letting his pokemon die after a beating taken too far. Poor excuse of a trainer had never been seen again and I strongly suspected Pikachu for his demise... But that was off topic I would have offed him myself if given half the chance. He was to be sent back to Oak's lab who got a piece of his mind about his choice in trainers. Anyway Oak's «Let me» keep the Charmander as a way to «Make it up»... I strongly suspected (I strongly suspect often, bad habit of mine) that he only wanted that his Newborn pokemon did not have contact with a mistreated pokemon... It would not do if they decided to run away, he would lose the League's support it he did not send at least three trainers per months to the competition... He quickly evolved, and saw like he said a «fire» inside me that he respected and made him feel like home so he stayed even when suddenly wings appeared on his back. That pokemon was a badass in my opinion. But then again my whole team was._

_Venusaur had been given to me as a Bulbasaur by a retired trainer. She had been wounded by an opponent and had been scared for life, she bought a small house in Cerulean City off her parents' money and was afraid of Pokemon ever since. Bulbasaur could sense it, she felt bad for it so she gave it to me because I «Took good care of my pokemons»._

_I had a Charmander half beaten to death recovering, bandaged head to toe besides me. Anybody would have assumed in his right mind that I was the one who did it._

_She gave me her Bulbasaur. Go figures._

_He got over it quickly though, got along perfectly with Charizard who trained him to resist Fire and Flying to the best of his ability when Venusaur taught him how to resist poison and «burn it off from his system, yeah» in his words._

_Blastoise, was a Squirtle when he got it, he wore blackglasses which had the reputation of powering the hated dark type as an act of defiance and gathered a gang of Squirtle under his command and leadership. He was to be given to a trainer who would «tame it»._

_I took him, assuring that I would made him into a «Respectable pokemon» he gave me a deadly glare under the approving smirk of the Jenny, which turned into full blown laughter when I proposed to release afterwards, not only ten minutes later because 'What was not already to respect into a badass glass-wearing gang leader to boot water pokemon?'._

_He followed me without question from that moment on._

_He was still somewhat of a gang leader in my team as a Blastoise, He got into fight with Venusaur and Charizard ever since their first stage of evolution which made Charizard resistant to most water types attacks, seeing as he could go down only from Blastoise Hydro Cannon nowadays and Venusaur made him resistant to Grass types attacks; he could resist his mighty SolarBeam._

_Pikachu was the one who kept them three from going too carried away, his Thunder was nothing to scoff at and they all feared it. Even Venusaur._

_And since all three could resist him, they could resist most electric types as well, Pikachu had become really strong during those three years and the rest of the team had had to catch up._

_Snorlax was 'asleep' in the middle of their path to the annoyance of my travelling partners, or Pokémon and myself; Pikachu tried shocking it, Charmeleon frying it, Venusaur poisoning it, and Wartortle was just swimming and sweet talking a Goldeen during all of this._

_In the end we did not succeed in waking him up until getting the Pokéflute from Mr. Fuji and my Wartortle hooked that Goldeen. _

_No pun intended._

_When we returned, Pikachu was the only one who did not evolve, by choice and strategy; and we were hard pressed to deal with an angry Snorlax who just woke up and was most likely hungry to boot; Charizard and Venusaur were on the Stand by when Pikachu Thundered it until exhaustion only to see resting it off. I quickly switched my Pikachu for my Charizard who did what he did the best._

_Bringing the heat; Once again no pun intended._

_He rested again, and again until Venusaur leech seeded him, and poisoned him, and seeing how that Snorlax was a first class tank I had no choice but catching it, training it and making him destroy any opponent in the league. His abilities to halve fire and ice damages and his immunity to poison came in handy against Lorelei and Koga. Even if he cost me a lot in food expanses until we started hunting it before cooking it. Snorlax could eat anything, truly._

_During that time, Blastoise went off with a Seadra; he tended to do that a lot._

_Lapras was the last one of my league team, After saving an employee of who had saved a Lapras from Team rocket's dirty clutches he gave it to me to secure it's escape; Why would you give one of the rarest pokemon in the world to another person when selling it could give you enough money to go into premature retirement and have enough money to last two generations ?_

_Because he cared about the pokemon well-being, because any trainer too weak to protect it or make it strong enough would fall to anybody and theirs mothers who targeted it, and because if I was strong enough to take on a Team Rocket infested tower, I could hold my own._

_Lapras joined the team then, and he had one vicious aim with his Ice Beam, his Water Gun, and his Blizzard later on. He destroyed Lance's dreaded team like it was made of paper once trained and was a valuable member of the team. He had been taken under Blastoise wing who was like an elder brother to him who taught him everything he knew. Everything I mean._

_Which explained that at least in Lapras was no more a species who could disappear at any moment, several specimens appeared each year. _

_The last pokemon though... He never used it in an official battle, he trained it sure; but never used it against the Elite Four or Green, Replacing his first four Pokémon were out of question, period; Snorlax was his team «Pillar» who could tank hits, rest them off, deal major damage while his others heavy hitters rested too. Lapras was finally his secret weapon against the terror of the league._

_Dragon type pokemon. Even if they also had to fear for their hide against unchecked Psychics. Seriously Green's Alakazam was a menace, no discussion._

_This pokemon had been given to me in Celadon City by a suspicious man; who was not a trainer apparently, he did not question it : Eevee were almost as scarce as Lapras; they could evolve into any type of pokemon given the right stimuli which counted the stones sold at the Mall next to the man's building._

_He did not evolve eevee though, not because «It was bad to evolve an eevee» and all of that he got often when people saw his eevee. Because the whole theory who told you about «how» an eevee was forced to evolve by bad trainers who cared only for power was a load of bullshit, and he had the means to know : he had an Espeon. An Espeon so proficient with his psychic powers that he could speak using telepathy.  
_

_Most eevee had great adaptability, they could adapt themselves to any form of speciality derivated from their base form and that's when their potential truly started to shine : they were incomplete before evolving and if an eevee did not want to evolve they could just back away from the stones, or refuse the evolution entirely by cancelling it._

_That was... rarer than rare to say the least, even more so considering how little trainers had an eevee to begin with._

_His eevee had been in a Pokeball under care; who was the only person he trusted with his pokemon, the man had deep remorse regarding his days as a Scientist, and had vowed to protect pokemons at the best of his ability... Well that's what he did._

_Back to topic, He needed to flee, so he went straight to after learning from Lance hesitating mouth what he was expected to do as a Champion to take his Eevee, the last member of his Family and flee, far away, to the only location he was sure nobody would try and seek him._

_ Mr Fuji was anything but a senile old man, he had been a scientist, the best there was in genetics and he knew about it... When Red all but barged in his house, in tears, seeming like he had run for his life he knew what had happened, he knew Red had become the Champion and had seen his choice for himself. He had said then :_

'_So... That is your choice ? You will hate me for it but I did not want to ruin your dreams, and I doubted you would have accepted it anyway, you would not have trusted me on this...I knew that you would discover it for yourself eventually though...' He seemed to bear even more sorrow than usual, that was saying a lot._

_I had half a mind to lash out at him, but a shock from Pikachu reminded me that time was of the essence, I asked for Eevee's Ball and he gave it to me without saying a word, and when I was about to leave he took me by the shoulder._

_«Wait, Red; They still have means to track you, your Pokédex signal is registered at your Professor's Lab most likely and at the League Headquarters... They will ask for explanations if they find you, they cannot find you because you would fight your way out : You must not do this it is suicide, do you understand ?»_

_I knew that much already, no matter how much it pained me. I nodded and he took my pokédex before plugging it in his computer. The Pokedex beeped twice before saying in a mechanical voice : «Removal of the localization system complete, doing so will prevent the league from localizing you should you ever lose yourself in the wilderness; furthermore the Pokedex register your encounters with Wild Pokémon which could allow the League to know should you ever fall prey to a particularly strong pokemon that you could not handle. Undercover Agent mode activated»._

_I did not understand what it meant, so I voice my question, which answered_

_«Like you most likely know... I was a scientist back in the day and I did terrible things... I did not think about ethics and morals, all I could see was my goal... And even that I failed Red... I know of the inner working of the league, I know of the original design of the pokedex and his functions and while this particular function has been created to protect trainers from themselves and their cockiness or against emergencies it could also be used to track you... Which would be an issue seeing as you want to run away, would it not ? The Undercover Agent mode is what trainers from the league who have been awarded a Pokedex use to fall under the radar for their most... unsavory operation, I trust you know what I'm referring to ?»_

_I swallowed something that tasted sour... I was shaking in anger_

_«While I do not know if they can locate their undercover agents, It will do nicely, because while you do not need a Pokedex it will serve to throw them into the wrong trail, allowing you to get away... If this is what you want» he finished slownly, I could see that he was doubting that I would stay hidden my whole life, I could see that he expected me to come back._

_I would not, not until my pokemons were strong enough._

_I had always been a quiet boy and since my seventh birthday the number of people who could rile me up could be counted on the fingers of my two hands, So I stared into Mr. Fuji eyes who responded in kind before nodding and saying one word before turning away, my hand in the process of turning the door handle _

_«Thank you... .»_

_If I am now better at climbing mountain than most hiker, I was nowhere near that level when I first reached Mount Silver and I attempted to one of the many edges which led to , I did not dare look beneath me, the height would be enough to make me fall. I briefly considered letting Charizard out of his Poké ball but he had exhausted himself on the way from Lavender City to Mt Silver... we did so many detours on our way here to make sure that nobody would follow us that I'm surprised he did not fall from exhaustion, there was no doubt that he was sleeping so he could not fly me over any longer before reaching the edge's top where I could attempt reaching the heart of the mountain._

_I needed to reach it, time was of the essence once again._

_But like I said I was no hiker, and the rocky formation quickly gave way under my left feet and my right hand, I was falling._

_Falling from that height, I would die, Charizard was too exhausted from flying, Lapras had not rested enough after our fight against Lance, and my others pokemons, even Pikachu were not out of strength._

_I was falling; and I had closed my eyes when I felt one of my Poké balls forcibly open, It was the seventh, eevee's who was the only pokemon besides pikachu small enough to stand on one of those rocks that were protruding from the edge. I did not know why he did that, my stomach felt like it had been hooked to something while the rest of my body was falling towards the ground, it was an horrible sensation._

_I did not want to die, and from the expression on eevee face I knew he did not want me to die either._

_I could hear my eevee scream his own name, I expected it, what I did not expect however was seeing him start glowing, I knew what it meant, I had seen it many times when Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise had evolved, followed by a deep feeling of pride deep within myself._

_I did not know what to expect, nobody had touched eevee with one of those stones, so why was he evolving to begin with ?_

_Soon enough the light expanded, forming another shape, leaner, his tails from the fluffy and 'cute' thing it had been lengthened. _

_The light and energy disappeared leaving in his place another figure in his place; I was still falling which meant that I did not see what he became, I did not even know that eevee could evolve without using stones at the time._

_I felt something hitting my head, not my skull, but my brain and suddenly I knew no more._

_An onlooker would have seen a purple pokemon moving with a feline grace whose eyes were glowing a deep shade of blue staring at a falling figure surrounded in a weird blue energy, before surrounding the purple pokemon._

_They both floated towards the top of the cliff's edge._

Yes, I will never forget how my eevee evolved into an Espeon in order to save my sorry ass.

'Start even insinuating that I might be attracted to men, and even worse, Green of all men and I will sign you up for a training session against whichever Tyranitar end up winning that festival !' He thought playfully, he did not need to speak out loud and risk disturbing the still sleeping Larvitar, least he brought upon himself theirs mothers wrath. Anyway his Espeon could easily pick up his thoughts.

«I wil never cease making fun of the fact that most of your pokemons have gotten the drop on you regarding the opposing gender though... Especially Charizard. Mostly Charizard... And Lapras. Not that it is that much surprising...» Espeon trailed off only to see his trainer looking like a Misdreavus... A smiling Misdreavus.

«Uh Oh...» Said Espeon

'You're so getting it Espeon.» I said, before picking him up and planning my revenge... I knew he could see what I wanted to do in my mind.

And there was _nothing_ he could do to stop it.

It was good that they could still be that much carefree, reasonably though after so much time... They knew however that it could not last.

**XxX**

A blue haired girl, whose hairs were done in two weirdly looking pigtail had set foot in the Dreaded Mount Silver; She was the second human to do so in nearly seven years and what was most pecualiar about her was that she had another figure walking besides her, it was a quadrupedal black as night itself pokemon sporting yellow glowing rings on her.

«What are we doing there, Crystal...? It is bad enough that the only reason I'm allowed out of my Pokeball is that we are in Johto territory but I can feel several strong presences arround us... I don't like it» Her pokemon said in a worry-filled voice

«I don't like it either Umbreon... But the only thing separing us from becoming Champion is... _That_ man, Professor Oak and Lance were firm on this point, we need to find him and beat him in order to be crowned !» She almost yelled

«How do we even know that he is even there to begin with, Crystal?...» Said a Sweat-dropping Umbreon.

Crystal stayed silent after that. She just started remembering...

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**There it is, another story which begged me to write it... I don't know if I'm a good writer since I'm rather new to writing stories... I usually only write down ideas, so I would like to read your judgment upon it.**

**For the people reading my other story, I really loved reading your reviews, and the next chapter will be published when I am sure to have done it right ^^'**


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